22 Kids and Counting's Sue Radford devastated as she shares 'heartbreaking' news

22 Kids and Counting's Sue Radford was overcome with emotion as she remembered the much-loved family friend Sophie Walker, who tragically died.

The Channel 5 celebrity previously reached out to her followers, encouraging them to contribute donations following the heart-wrenching loss.

Initially misdiagnosed as a stomach bug in 2017, it turned out to be Wilms’ tumour, a rare form of cancer. On June 17, the bereaved family shared a touching tribute on Instagram to remember Sophie, who died last July, reports Lancs Live.

An image captured a year ago, showing Sophie seated on a bed, was posted with the emotional caption: "Today marks a year since Sophie rapidly started to decline."

The post hauntingly read: "The next few weeks are going to be super hard as we relive what went wrong and what we should've done differently."

The family posted: "It's absolutely heartbreaking seeing her face in so much pain sitting in this chair, her back was in agony from the rapidly growing tumours, and we were absolutely desperate and terrified at the same time."

In their message, they shared the devastating news from Germany: "We had a private blood test in Germany and the results weren't good at all, we knew we were coming to the end of the road and wanted to try and reverse it. Which just wasn't possible," and concluded with a poignant reference to Sophie as "Our beautiful girl Sophie."

The post featured an image along with details of Sophie’s attempts to ameliorate her suffering through various treatments.

Family friend Sue Radford joined the conversation, expressing her support: "You and Jamie are the most amazing parents who fought tirelessly for Sophie," she wrote.

"This picture breaks my heart. We miss Sophie so much life is just so unfair," Sue continued, adding a sorrowful emoji. "It breaks my heart."

The touching post prompted a wave of heartfelt comments from fans offering their love and support to the grieving family.

"Sending your family so much love. I watched your journey, your love and devotion was endless, I'm so sorry nothing could save her" one user empathised.

"You did EVERYTHING you could for her. You do not own an ounce of blame," another person reassured. "There is nothing you could have done differently. Cancer is a beast," a third individual acknowledged.

"It breaks my heart she was such a strong warrior and did not deserve this. She is often thought of as are you all sending hugs at this very difficult time," a fourth shared.